Crafting Content for a Rapidly Changing Audience

October 2, 2023

I grew up amidst the co-op lines of rural America, where my neighbors, teachers, and parents formed a close-knit community. The heart of our communication often happened over coffee at the local diner. Each morning brought lively discussions about the latest high school football game or the most recent town chatter. Yet, as the digital age progresses, our traditional channels and pace of content consumption are undergoing significant shifts. From the era of silent films to today’s YouTube hits, content evolution mirrors the ever-changing audience’s needs and preferences. It’s now our task to digitize these town gatherings, serving them to our audience via websites and social media platforms.

Understanding Content Consumption’s Evolutionary Path

At its core, traditional media has always been about delivering information. The manner in which this information is presented determines the reader’s level of understanding and engagement. As audience demographics transform, so should our content delivery methods. Consider platforms like TikTok. Their meteoric rise isn’t just a popularity spike – they symbolize our evolving content consumption habits. These platforms, with their brief yet captivating content, highlight that the upcoming content wave is less about quantity and more about quality. It brings to mind the classic adage, “less is more”, but with a twist—it’s more effective when it’s meaningful.

A Shift in Demographics: The Post-COVID Landscape

The pandemic ushered in a notable demographic shift. A significant portion of Millennials and Gen Z individuals have begun migrating from urban centers to the landscapes of rural America. This movement, largely enabled by the feasibility of remote work, underscores the allure of a peaceful domicile over the constant hum of city life. However, remote work presents its own set of challenges, with internet access being one of the biggest among them. Ensuring that members of your community have adequate broadband access and effectively communicating this information has become indispensable. After all, the way we communicate is just as crucial as the content of the message itself.

This new approach to showcasing broadband plans, especially when displayed on widely-used platforms like mobile devices, can revolutionize the way consumers perceive and engage with their broadband providers and educate themselves on the differences between rate plan offerings. The Broadband Label promises transparency and clarity, ensuring every customer knows what they’re getting into, devoid of technical jargon or hidden caveats. In essence, the Broadband Label doesn’t just present facts; it empowers your website visitors, giving them the tools they need to navigate the vast digital seascape with confidence. As the digital age progresses, this clarity will prove invaluable.

Navigating the Challenge of Diminishing Attention Spans

In today’s information-saturated environment, the Millennial and Gen Z demographics frequently feel overwhelmed, leading to ever-decreasing attention spans. Born and raised in the digital era, where smartphones and social media platforms are everyday staples, my generation is perceived to possess an even more fleeting focus. Platforms that resonate with Gen Z, such as TikTok with its emphasis on short-form video content, are evident indicators of this altered content consumption paradigm. However, an important note to underscore is that while a preference for quick, bite-sized content is evident, Gen Z also exhibits intense dedication and depth when diving into subjects close to their hearts.

Today’s content landscape is a race against time. As content creators, the challenge is dual-faceted: outshining rival content and navigating the myriad distractions that vie for the audience’s attention. The key to securing today’s audience? Crafting content that seizes their attention from the outset.

Columbia REA in Walla Walla, Washington leveraged content visualization to provide its members with an intuitive and straightforward way to access information about initiating new memberships.

Embracing the Era of Visual Narration

Today, visuals have transcended from mere pieces of clip art to often being the star of the show. To the average reader, a dense textual page can seem daunting, almost fortress-like. Yet, a strategically incorporated iconography, shortened statements, bullet points or a brief animation can succinctly and effectively deliver the crux of the message.

Consider a “by the numbers” segment on a website—it employs sharp visuals to capture an organization’s core ethos, eliminating the need for lengthy text. Data suggests that audiences allocate a mere 26 seconds on a dense text piece, indicating a superficial engagement level. Contrastingly, a page enriched with visuals holds their attention for an impressive average of 4 minutes, a testament to genuine engagement and comprehensive information absorption.

This dynamic data visualization banner offers a snapshot into the essence of Grays Harbor PUD. Whether visitors are newcomers or existing customers, it instills trust and confidence in the organization.

The Imperative of Immediate Connection

Today’s digital sphere, spearheaded by platforms like TikTok, underscores an important narrative—it’s less about mere amusement and more about forging an instantaneous, impactful connection.

As we navigate the realm of short clips and fleeting moments, it’s evident that it’s not just about aesthetics or humor. The true essence lies in the evoked emotions, the forged connections, the relayed message, and the value packed into those transient seconds. This dynamic landscape beckons content creators to be both succinct and deep, ensuring that every fragment of time leaves a lasting imprint.

Traditional Media’s Evolution

Historically, classical long-form content such as cable TV shows, movies, and documentaries have been the pillars of storytelling. They gifted us with hours of intricate plots, deep character developments, and comprehensive analysis. But with the metamorphosis of the digital world, audience preferences have pivoted. Now, the younger demographic is magnetized towards concise, easily digestible, and personalized content.

Platforms like Netflix and Hulu spearhead this movement, offering content that doesn’t just captivate but seamlessly integrates into the bustling lifestyles of the present. The era of binge-watching succinct series during short breaks is now. If we remain stagnant, we risk being overshadowed by the evolving world of television.

The Rise of Visual Narratives

Visual storytelling is emerging as the digital age’s new normal. It goes beyond just offering a break from textual monotony. Visual elements, be it graphics or illustrations, plunge deeper into engagement realms. Subtle additions like footer illustrations transcend mere aesthetics; they’re crucial in echoing brand identity, ethos, and sentiments. In a time where every word might not be perused, these visual markers relay implicit messages that leave a lasting imprint long after a site visitor has navigated away.

Cloverland Electric Cooperative in Dafter, Michigan chose to incorporate a data visualization banner on their homepage, presenting a concise “by the numbers” overview of their identity. Additionally, they featured a custom footer illustration that subtly highlights elements of their community, exuding both local recognition and civic pride.

The PDF Dilemma

As the digital space continues its rapid evolution, so must the mediums we utilize. PDFs, architected mainly for desktops and print, increasingly find themselves misfit in our smartphone-dominated era. Many cooperatives showcase newsletters or magazines on their websites via PDFs. This format poses reading challenges not just for the visually impaired but even for those primarily operating on smartphones. The cumbersome zooming and scrolling needed to navigate a PDF on a mobile device underscores this inconvenience. As we delve deeper into the digital epoch, content must become more versatile, adaptive, and responsive to myriad device dimensions.

An iPhone showcasing an online form to establish electric service for Clearwater Power. — During the COVID19 pandemic, Clearwater Power, an electric cooperative based in Idaho, amplified their use of online forms to maintain smooth operations while their physical lobby was closed. This shift not only streamlined their internal procedures but also enhanced the website experience for their members, making tasks more accessible and efficient than previously.

Proactivity Over Passivity

In the whirlwind of today’s digital metamorphosis, merely matching steps isn’t enough. As content architects, planners, and messengers, our ambition should be to foresee, innovate, and pioneer. Serving a generation nurtured by the internet necessitates both succinctness and depth. The real task? Molding content that aligns with their rapid engagements but also etches a deep impression. Embracing and leveraging these shifting paradigms allows us to stand tall, not as mere observers, but as trailblazers in the perpetually transforming domain of digital narration.